Dimensional Descent

"We challenge you," Verma's gentle voice echoed. She flapped her gorgeous red-gold wings, and the world was filled with a whirlwind of delicate feathers that looked like the embers of creation.

Leonel's eyes narrowed, wild sparks of lightning threatening to bring his Dreamscape crumbling down, but he controlled it, the slight change to his expression after such a long spurt of emotionlessness.

However, despite his indifference on the surface, he was grinning so wide on the inside that Aina had to bite her own lip to the point of drawing blood to keep herself neutral. To outside observers, it looked as though Aina was having trouble controlling herself again while Leonel was running up to the end of his rope.

Verma pecked her beak at the air, but rather than pulling something out from a hidden void like Somnus had, there was a sonorous call that suddenly filled the skies.

Minerva frowned. 'What the hell was going on?' She hadn't really thought much of Verma speaking. After all, if they were challenging in the Force Pill Crafting stream, then it was Verma's right. She was the Force Pill Crafter of their group. But she didn't like this.

"My apologies, Master Minerva," Verma bowed toward Minerva. "I am but a beast, and my methods aren't as sophisticated as Sir Talon or Sir Somnus. I can only use these crude methods."

A Celestial Ember Race elder with wings that blotted out the skies and could envelop the entire city suddenly appeared in the air. With a tap of its claws, the world shook, and Minerva paled. This elder was far stronger than her; she would have to call the real Ancestors of the Owlan Race here to deal with this, but this matter was being completely under her control. This came completely out of left field.

Luckily, with a flap of its enormous wings, the elder Celestial Ember vanished, piercing through the Bubble veil as though it wasn't there at all.

Verma flapped her wings, and the ring that fell from the skies gently came to a stop in the air before being pushed toward Leonel.

and ensure that they're

shatter his body with her aura alone, had felt all sorts of trepidation

ring and swept his

seeming to tremble slightly. It was almost imperceptible, and to a

In addition, I will put forward all

to. All that mattered was that Leonel would understand.

one step removed from whatever happened from here on out? He thought about it. 'It's possible... it would just be

was unfortunate that his plans hadn't gone as perfectly as he wanted, but it wasn't all bad either. There

This matter

ring in a

using any three poison Force Pills of the

sucked in a

opposite on the other end. This was a realm that was pursued by

even giving them a chance to pick with poisons they wanted... That latter move could be seen as kindness only if you were a naive layman. By not giving Aina and Leonel the three poisons she would use herself, they had to guess from an array of billions of types on their own. Rather than knowing that there was

his challenge refusal, but he had also set the parameters for what treasures would equate to his Life Tablet and Segmented Cube himself. He no longer

the round began, it took Leonel and Aina upwards of an hour just to pick out three